Game Review: Call of Duty 3 (Wii)

The game may be more of the same, but the execution of the control scheme make …

The Call of Duty games have always been best played with the sound cranked up. After all, no other game so easily makes you feel like you're in a war with the sound of gunfire all around, explosions every few seconds, and screamed orders from your superiors. Sure, it's scripted, but, man... that first play-through always feels great, if slightly disconcerting. I knocked Call of Duty 3 on the 360 for being a lot more of the same, so I was skeptical about whether or not the Wii's control scheme would be enough to get me to take a second look.

Why would we be interested in a game like this with the Wiimote? It took me a half an hour or so to get comfortable with the control scheme, making a lot of newb mistakes in the meantime. (No other system in the past ten years has actually made me learn a new skillset for gaming.) The experience felt uncomfortable because I'm so used to sequels and controls I know how to use the second I pick them up, making this sort of learning process odd for a hardcore gamer. You move with the nunchuk, aim and look around with the Wiimote, and you shake the nunchuk in different directions to switch weapons and reload. Give yourself some time to get used to this.

It's worth the effort, though; the game on the Wiimote is a blast. While I didn't feel like I had a gun in my hand—the Wiimote doesn't feel like a Garand—it does add a level of "being there-ness" that really pulls you into the game. At one point I was riding on the back of a tank and used the Wiimote to look around through binoculars and call out targets. When the tank under me fired and the controller rumbled, it was very satisfying. There are also scenes where you fight over your gun with an enemy soldier and have to frantically move your hands back and forth to fend him off, killing him by slamming the butt of your gun into his face. This left me a little sweaty and with tired arms. It's much more frantic and scary than just jamming buttons.

I played some of this game last night with some friends, all of them hardcore PC guys. I let them play for a few minutes, and while they agreed it was fun, the general consensus was "just give me back my mouse and keyboard." Fair enough. The Wiimote control-scheme is not as accurate as a good mouse and keyboard. It does add a level of freshness to the experience, though, and I had a great time playing the game. Swinging the controller to melee a soldier with that great sound design making me feel like I was in the middle of the fight was an amazing gaming experience, and I'm even more impressed that the port feels so good with the Wiimote. I can't wait to see what someone can do when they design the entire game with that control-scheme in mind. Until then, this sets the benchmark for first-person shooters on the Wii, and it's far from bad. Sure the graphics aren't up to par with the PS3 and 360 versions, but it doesn't look terrible, and the controller pulled me into the game much more than a few graphical special effects could.